Every year at the Mount Carmel festival, Rocco Nolfi passes by the DiRusso’s Italian Sausage truck and says “hey” to Archie DiRusso. It’s a connection that spans four generations.

Nolfi’s great-great-grandfather, Pietro Pirone, first came to the United States from Italy after receiving a letter from DiRusso’s great-grandfather, Agostine Vespasian. The letter assured Pirone he would be able to find a job in the Mahoning Valley. After Pirone made the voyage to America, he ended up founding Lowellville’s first Mount Carmel Club, originally a homeless shelter for Italian immigrants.